DC at Night

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Merry Tuba Christmas 2012

If you were asked to choose the perfect Christmas instrument, there's a strong possibility you might name bells. The seasonal hints are everywhere. Carol of the Bells. Silver Bells. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Chances are few people would choose a tuba. But, based on an annual concert at the Kennedy Center last week, that oversight might be a mistake.

More than 200 tuba, sousaphone, and euphonium players from all over the Washington, D.C. area packed (and indeed overflowed onto the floor) of the Millennium Stage to perform the Merry Tuba Christmas 2012 concert.

The idea for the unique, mellow brass-instrument-only holiday concert was conceived 30 years ago by tubist Harvey Phillips as a way to honor his tuba teacher William Bell, who was born on Christmas day in 1902. The 1st concert was held in 1974 at the ice rink at New York City's Rockefeller Plaza. Since then, it has spread to more than 250 cities and communities all over the United States. The 2012 concert here marked the 22nd time the Kennedy Center had hosted the event.

The concert setlist included renditions of almost all the best-known Christmas carols. According to format, the horns would play the 1st verse and chorus of seasonal favorites from "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" to "Joy to the World" and then repeat as the huge (it ran the entire length of the great hallway) audience sang on the second go-round.

The musicians, who had only rehearsed for an hour in the afternoon, included both amateurs and professionals. There were members of elementary, middle-school, and high school bands, military ensembles, and Kennedy Center performers. The youngest tubist was 8; the oldest, 76. Many performers decorated their tubas with wreaths, lights, and other symbols of the season. Most wore red and green Christmas colors and several sported Santa hats. The audience even learned how tuba players acknowledge applause. Instead of standing and bowing, they remain seated and hold their instruments high in the air.

Oh, and one final thing about that Christmas bell thing. With the sounds emanating from the bell of their instruments, the one-day only tuba, sousaphone and euphonium orchestra performed a unique, low-note- loaded version of "The Carol of the Bells."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
I imagine most of you (if not) all of your reading this post didn't have an opportunity to see this unusual performance live. But, as they do with all their free 6 p.m. Millennium Stage shows, the Kennedy Center placed it online. You can view it by clicking here. And, as an added bonus, there are links to Tuba Christmas concerts all the way back to 1999 if one performance isn't enough for you

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Judy and Me

DC and Us: Perfect Together

In June 2011, I retired as an English teacher in an urban high school. One month earlier, my wife, Judy, had retired as the manager of a custom frame shop and art gallery.

We sold our South Jersey home of 33 years and moved to a 2-bedroom apartment in Crystal City, directly across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.

Within an extremely short time (I say minutes; Judy says days) we realized that we had made a perfect decision. We loved DC.

The Prices Do DC is an attempt to share that love of place and what we are doing on a regular basis with you.

Journal writing such as we are attempting here is about the process of recognizing, recalling, recording, and remembering. As such, I think our blog has 3 audiences. First, and foremost, there is Judy and I. Call it our electronic scrapbook. Next, there are our grandchildren Audrey and Owen. When we are no longer here (and may those days not come for a long, long time), we hope they can still visit these pages to find out what their grandparents were interested in, did, and liked during their DC years. Finally, if you are reading this, there is you.

Like all successful projects, The Prices Do DC calls for a clearly defined division of labor. Here is ours. We jointly plan. I make a list. We travel together. Judy is the financial overseer. I record our observations in a small notebook. I eat a lot. Judy eats a little. Once home, I create the posts. Judy edits them. I design the look. Judy has her final say and pushes the publish button.

And now the work falls to you. Please enjoy what we have created. And if you do (or if you don't) let us know. Attach a comment somewhere on the page here. Send us an email. Knock on our door. We're waiting to hear from you.

Peace --- Dave and Judy Price

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There are 2 ways to contact us:1) attach a comment at the end of any post2) send us an email directly at dleeprice @comcast.netEither way will let you send us a shout-out.